We spent the first three weeks of June traveling in Turkey! It was an amazing trip! We saw and did so much, but we will try to give just a nutshell account of it all.
We flew into Istanbul to meet Jeff's parents and a former student of Jeff's Dad from Turkey who had offered to be our guide. His name is Recai (in America he goes by Ricky). He and his wife, Gulsum, hosted us in Istanbul and traveled around with us. They were so nice! They quickly became not just tour guides and translators (which was wonderful) but also good friends. Elijah especially liked Gulsum (she loved to spoil him, buying him ice cream and carrying him around everywhere) and after a few days he was calling her his "girlfriend."We were greeted with a lot of hospitality all over Turkey. Wherever we went, the kids were greeted warmly. Elijah made instant friends with immigration officers, shop keepers, and just about everyone that saw him. Ivy was also a big hit. Gulsum's parents vacated their apartment in Istanbul so we could stay there, as did some of Ricky's friends on another night. We were treated better than family and we only wished we could express in Turkish our appreciation.
Probably our favorite part of the trip was traveling to a small village where a family that Ricky knows put us up in their house, cooked a delicious feast of a dinner for us, and showered us with gifts like homemade olives and soap. They showed us their some of their land where they have orchards. They mostly grow olives, but they also have fruit trees - oranges, pomogranates, apricots, cherries and more. It was a beautiful, idylic place and the cherries where ripe. We picked and ate to our hearts' content! The next morning after another wonderful meal, we sat with the men in the village center and talked with some of the men in the village, including the "mayor." They were so gracious and invited us to come again.
We rented a van and Ricky borrowed a car so we could travel to other sites. We went to famous ruins in Troy and Ephesus. Ephesus was amazing - such ancient stones, some still standing and beautiful mosaic floors and marbled walls still in place! Stacey - the family ham - enjoyed taking her bows in the ancient theater.
Noah celebrated his 9th birthday in Selcuk, the town near Ephesus. We had a nice dinner in town, complete with a birthday cake from a nearby bakery. Recai and Gulsum gave him a travel chess game and a Turkish game similar to "Sorry!" which we played a lot through the rest of the trip. Noah, Caleb, Elijah and Gulsum also took a camel ride!
We visited Pamukkale, which means Cotton Castle in Turkish. It's a place that looks like hills covered in ice, but it's really a mineral springs with white deposits flowing over the hills. We hiked up and swam at the salty hot spring pool at the top.
Our trip took us down to the southern coastal city of Antalya - a bustling modern city in a beautiful setting between dramatic mountains and the Mediterranean Sea. Jeff especially enjoyed hiking through the high-mountain ruins at nearby Termessos. We drove along the coast all the way to Gocek where we boarded Desire, our 39 foot sailboat for the week. We sailed around to different coves and islands enjoying the sight of the green hills rising straight out of the water. We enjoyed swimming and snorkeling in the very clear water of the Mediterranean Sea and the boys liked getting sailing lessons from Grandpa and Dad. Ivy had a great time toddling around on the boat, too.
Stacey said goodbye to her twenties and celebrated her 30th birthday on the boat - a great way to start a new decade! Jeff and the boys disembarked in Marmaris early in the morning to search for a bakery with cakes, which we all enjoyed after lunch.We haven't yet said much about food, but it was a wonderful part of every day of our stay in Turkey. There were always fresh tomatoes and cucumbers and plenty of olives. We loved the delicious cheeses and yogurts. Lamb and beef kebabs, meatballs, stuffed eggplant and plenty of bread at every meal. Jeff enjoyed eating Doner Kebabs again - a quick Turkish sandwich he discovered on his mission in Germany 14 years ago. And, as Stacey puts it, what could possibly be wrong with a place that has two pages of dessert items on the menu?? Baklava and Turkish delight were only the beginning of the yummy treats enjoyed after meals.
There's much more to tell - flight back to Istanbul, boat tour on the Bosphorus, day at the amusement park, visit to the American Consulate, and the day trip in Nairobi on the way back (giraffes, elephants - and our first wild rhino!). It was a fabulous trip all around, thanks especially to Recai and Gulsum. For those with Google Earth, I've made a file with our track around Turkey and will email it to you upon request.
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